Weak Trees Break in the Wind
by TheRainyNights
Summary: Arthur Kirkland had met a young girl named Lucy a year before the United Nations became apart of WWII and became friends. Lucy had looked up to Arthur as a older brother but when he leaves without explaining why, Lucy is terribly hurt and ends up getting rid of everything that reminded her of him, except one thing, a pedunculate oak tree. Seven years later, he comes back.


~Hi! This is my first ever fan fiction that I've actually posted somewhere.

That's kind of why I don't know how any of this website works! Still thank you for reading and enjoy! ~ 

_Weak Trees Break in the Wind_

_A small town in northeast England -1941_

_Blonde curls bounce in the wind as a young girl quickly runs into a train station, not stopping when her flower barrette falls out of her hair and onto the ground. Quickly she searches the crowd waiting to board the train; his face stands out among the rest of the passengers, not just to her but to everyone. "Arthur!" People mumble in disgust as the little girl pushes through the group toward a man in a grey suit. Her cheeks flushed in red and hair falling out of her ribbons, the girl reaches the man and wraps her arms tightly around the man's waist. "Why didn't you tell me?! " She looks up from having her face in his shirt and he can see she had clearly been crying. "I almost didn't get to say goodbye to you!" The blonde once again buried her face into the man's shirt and sobbed. He sighs and moves her face from his stomach then hands her a cloth from the grey shirt pocket._

"_Lucy I-" He wanted to finish the sentence but he didn't know how to tell her, to tell this small child that he didn't want to say goodbye. It was such a selfish thing to do but he didn't think he could handle the thick tears rolling down her cheeks, her asking when he was coming back, but most importantly; him not being able to answer. She finished wiping her tears and blowing her nose then hands him the cloth. "Francis told me just in time, you jerk!" She grabs him again and squeezes him. He can feel her begin to cry again. He bends down so he can look her right in the eye, Lucy loves when he does this because he is no longer bigger then her, they are equal. He lifts his mouth up and pecks her temple. She immediately stops crying and stares at him._

"_I'm so sorry Lucy; I've been being selfish lately. I think of only myself and that made you suffer, you don't need to forgive me but I want you to please do one more thing for me." The girl stares at him, hanging on to his every word. "I need you to try and forget me." He caresses her face, running his thumb over the edges of her jaw. "I know, it's an impossible request, but I want to you to try." He blinks away a few tears. How was he saying this to her? What she must be thinking! She would never be able to do that, she couldn't just throw away the pictures, or cut down all the trees, or not wear the hair bow he got her. She could never forget him. He waits for her answer, it would hurt but he wants nothing more to hear her say, "okay"._

"_No" Her voice was a bird's chirping in a bed of thunder. "You are right; you are a very selfish person to ask such a thing of me." He moves his hand away and hugs her again this time to comfort himself not her. "You aren't coming back? Is that why?"_

"_No! I'm coming back; I just don't want you spending all those years waiting for me." Lucy was only a young age of ten but in that moment she said and did the most profound and beautiful thing Arthur had ever witnessed. She ran over to a flower pot that were for a decoration and picked a rose ignoring the thorns. "Lucy! Are you-" She ran back over to him and wrapped his hands around hers with the red rose in the middle._

"_Now, this rose will hold the memories of the last time we touched, the last time we'll ever say good bye and when I think about you I'll hold this rose and see you all over again, until we meet again" The train loudly blasted it's horn and passengers started boarding. Arthur quickly kisses her cheek and moves his hands from around the red flower. _

_"Farewell Lucy!"_

"_Until we meet again, Arthur!"_

_And he grabs his bags and boards the train, leaving his only friend behind to watch him leave. He really was a selfish person. _

_A small town in northeast England -1948_

Quickly I rush past the small shops pushing past people in the crowded streets. I budge in between a couple casually walking and holding hands, not really caring that I ruined their "moment". I've always hated lovey-dovey couples that go around holding hands and kissing each other on the cheek in public.

"Hey!" The man yells behind me and I continue to move forward.

"Ever heard of a room, you twats!" I yell behind me. I can say that it was a little rude but I can't take it back now. I make my way to a small stand with a man selling tomatoes and waving to a group of ladies. I stop and pant.

"Lucy my dear!" He bags tomatoes for a man then looks down at her. "You ran all the way here? I could have waited, no need to tire yourself, men don't like sweaty ladies." I quickly glare up at the wide-smiling man.

"Well that's good because I'm not looking for men to like me. What I _am _looking for though is if you have the book?" As I ask this he bends under the small wooded counter and searches through his things until he finds a book with a torn, black cover with the words "White summers" printed on the front. I quickly snatch the tainted book from his grasp and hug it in my arms.

"Yes! Thank you so much! I've been looking all over England for this!" He checks out another person.

"Ah yes, it's a very rare book. Be good to it." He looks from the customer and smiles again at me. I shake my head up and down in a swift nodding motion. "Sometimes, Lucy, I feel we are only friends because you like to steal me books and not give them back until you've read it ten times." He gives a little chuckle then bags some tomatoes and hands them to me.

"That and all the free tomatoes!" I smile back and laugh a little. To most people I seem rude and unapproachable but I'm really a fun person just you have to wear me down little by little.

"There it is! Your beautiful smile! It doesn't matter how sweaty you are, any man would marry the second you smiled at them!" He gives me a playful wink and I quickly wipe the smile off my face. "Come on Lucy, it's a pretty good deal. All the books and tomatoes you'll ever want!"

"Sorry it's still a no, Antonio. Maybe next time." I laugh and wave goodbye to the goofy man behind a counter selling tomatoes and run out of the people-covered streets.

In a small field I sit and begin to read, "White summers", basking in the warm spring sun. Normally the spring is still icy and frozen yet, for the past two weeks it's been surprisingly warm. I read the beginning pages of the book but I stop at a name and stare. Memories start flushing back to me and I get this great pit in my stomach like someone had just taken everything out of it. "Arthur…" My voice is quiet and shaky; if it didn't come out of my mouth I wouldn't believe I said it. I close the book and look up at the cloudless sky, staring at nothing but thinking of everything.

Since then I've sent Francis thousands of letters begging him to explain what happened but never one reply. I've avoided the train station, a little field next to my house that has been terribly over-grown since then, and almost the whole town because it brings back too many memories of a friend that left me behind. Can't even remember what his face exactly looks like, we took many pictures together but I threw them all into my fire-pit along with the royal blue hair ribbon he had gotten me. I don't regret doing it yet, when ever I think of it, I feel guilty.

Sadly, I now can't allow myself to read "White summers". I sigh, holding my hand over my forehead, then get up. It's been seven years. Why do I even care about him? He was a childhood friend, we only knew each other for a season, yet he felt like my brother. An older person to talk to and tease, he protected me, and made me happy, he was my only friend.

I slowly walk back into town staring at the pink flowers across the back and part of the cover of the cream colored book. I walk by Antonio's stand and set the book on the counter while he's busy with a customer. He's so dense and unobservant sometimes it's unbelievable. The streets cleared out a bit since the street lights are already on. I shuffle out of the streets and make my way onto a beaten-down path surrounded by brushes and weeds of all kinds.

The only thing that I couldn't get rid of that reminded me of him was our tree. I make my way into a small clearing and right in the middle was a tall and broad tree perfect for climbing, a pedunculate oak. We would climb it almost every day, dodging between braches, laughing when he would fall, me scolding him when he cursed twenty-words-a-second after falling. Remembering all of these things made the pit in my stomach eat larger and almost devour me whole. Still, I reach up and grab the first branch and pull me over it then stand up. I continue to pull myself over branch after branch until I get to the highest point I possibly can. _Lucy stares at the setting sun and remembers a person without a face to her, only a first name, Arthur._


End file.
